Louise Elizabeth Manny (1890 – 17 August 1970) was a

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

folklorist and historian. She was born in

Gilead, Maine Gilead is a town in Oxford County, Maine, United States. Upon incorporation in 1804, it was named for the large quantity of Balm of Gilead trees in the town center. The population was 195 at the 2020 census. History In the late 1700s, Mas ...

but her family moved to New Brunswick when she was three. She grew up on the

Miramichi River The Miramichi River is a river located in the east-central part of New Brunswick, Canada. The river drains into Miramichi Bay in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The name may have been derived from the Montagnais words "Maissimeu Assi" (meaning Mi'km ...

and there she developed an interest in the local history, of which she wrote and broadcast extensively. Commissioned by

Lord Beaverbrook William Maxwell Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook (25 May 1879 – 9 June 1964), generally known as Lord Beaverbrook, was a Canadian-British newspaper publisher and backstage politician who was an influential figure in British media and politics o ...

in 1947, she began to collect and record the songs of lumbermen and fishermen in the Miramichi region. Beaverbrook also provided financial assistance to allow her to restore The Manse in

Newcastle, New Brunswick Newcastle is an urban neighbourhood in the city of Miramichi, New Brunswick, Canada. Prior to municipal amalgamation in 1995, it was an incorporated town and the shire town of Northumberland County. Situated on the north bank of the Miramichi R ...

which became the local library. Beaverbrook placed stringent constraints on her folklore collections. He stipulated that she collect only indigenous works, not those passed down from other sources. After she completed her assignment for Beaverbrook (published as ''Songs of Miramichi''), she continued her research with more freedom, establishing a more encompassing philosophy: to her, folksong were songs "people sing from memory for their own and their friends' amusement, and are composed by the people themselves and passed on by word of mouth." Thus, whether old or new, they "show the basic cultural background of our country, something which is truly our own and which has sprung from the people. In recording them in all their simplicity we have preserved something of New Brunswick life and culture which has a value and beauty all its own

For nearly twenty years (1947 to 1965) she presented these recordings in weekly broadcasts on CKMR radio in Newcastle. Manny also presented items of historical interest in a weekly newspaper column called "Scenes from an Earlier Day." She founded the

Miramichi Folksong Festival The Miramichi Folksong Festival, is the oldest folk music festival in Canada. It is held annually in Miramichi, New Brunswick, Canada. It was established by Louise Manny in response to a request from Lord Beaverbrook that she document the traditio ...

in 1957 and was the festival director from 1958 to 1969. The festival, which still continues, provided additional material for her work. In her work she was closely associated with

Helen Creighton Mary Helen Creighton, CM (September 5, 1899 – December 12, 1989) was a prominent Canadian folklorist. She collected over 4,000 traditional songs, stories, and beliefs in a career that spanned several decades, and she published many books and ar ...

and Edward D. Ives who worked respectively in neighbouring Nova Scotia and Maine.

Publications and recordings

''Folksongs of the Miramichi: Lumber and River Songs from the Miramichi Folk Fest, Newcastle, New Brunswick''
' (1962 Folkways album). * ''Songs of Miramichi'' (Fredericton 1968) with James Reginald Wilson

Honours

* Woman of the Century medal from the National Council of Jewish Women of Canada (1967) * Mount Manny in New Brunswick's Historians' Range was named for her (1969) * Honorary LL D (St Thomas College, Chatham) (1961) * Honorary LL D (University of New Brunswick) (1961)

References

Canadian Encyclopedia

{{DEFAULTSORT:Manny, Louise Canadian folklorists Women folklorists 1890 births 1970 deaths People from Oxford County, Maine People from Miramichi, New Brunswick People from Northumberland County, New Brunswick